Mac Vs Windows: Who’s the real winner?

Having been a windows user for the most part of my life, I’ve never gone so far to challenge the thought of switching to a Macintosh computer, however, upon being given a Macbook Pro as a work laptop, I really think I should have considered a Mac sooner.

Everyday activities are a breeze, flicking from screen to screen and swiftly changing tasks all in one super user friendly interface. Now if we compare that with its main competitor: windows, you’ll find that they have touched on the ease of use with the release of windows 10, but the experience on the whole just doesn’t compare to Mac.

Now I’m not saying that I won’t ever use my windows computer again, as there are still clear bonuses to using Windows, but plainly from the work perspective and the flow of the interface, Mac is a clear winner.

Now before I go off on a tangent, I’d like to try and justify some of the reasons why I’ll never make the complete switch to Mac: Firstly, there are the two limiting factors of Mac, those being customisability and also the amount of devices they have to offer. The device list is limited to “Two types of laptop, the Mac mini, the iMac all-in-one and the Mac Pro” (1), whilst windows on the other hand has well over 20 different manufacturers all creating their own different versions of windows pc’s, laptops and even tablets.

Alongside the lack of devices, there is also a distinct lack of software for Mac OS X. All the essentials have been covered, but it’s the other little programs that no one thinks of that Mac doesn’t seem to have.

This ties in with my next point: which is the fact that Mac’s aren’t good for gaming, now this isn’t a huge flaw to me as I’m not much of a gamer, but from time to time, relaxing and ruining someone’s day can be really stress relieving.

The final factor of this comparison is the price difference between the two. A top of the range Macbook pro will sell for close to £2000 pounds. Now compare this to the price of a windows laptop with similar specifications and you could look to save over 50% of the Macbook Pro’s buying price. Also to note: for a little over £1000 you could exceed these specifications with a windows laptop.

To summarise the best features of both Mac OS X and Windows:

Mac — Extremely usable and well designed, great for working on and the user experience on the whole is great.

Windows — You have the option to play games, they’re cheaper, there are more customisability options and they’re also more powerful on the whole.

To conclude my findings; If you have the money to spend and you‘re only looking to do work on your laptop, then I’d get a Mac, but if you do play the odd game and want a bit of customisability, then hand’s down I’d get the windows laptop. Saying that, If I had £2000 to spend on a laptop, I still think I’d choose Windows out of the two.

References

1. Egan. 5 reasons why PCs are better than Macs: Mac vs Windows PC — which is best? [Internet]. PC Advisor. 2013 [cited 7 August 2016]. Available from: http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/new-product/desktop-pc/5-reasons-why-pcs-are-better-than-macs-mac-vs-windows-pc--which-is-best-3493092/